County Executive Pete Kutras on Measure B: Relationship between SVLG and VTA “troubling”
Q. I want to talk a little about VTA and BART, which is not directly your portfolio, but certainly affects the county. When this first came up in 2000, Mayor Gonzales did an end-run around the supervisors and went straight to the VTA to put it on the ballot. And there was a replay this time when they went to the VTA for a one-eighth cent tax. Does the competition with the hospital parcel tax bother you?
A. Yes.
Q. Tell me why.
A. Because I think medical care is the number one issue in this county, in this state, in this country. And to say a capital project such as BART should be the priority troubles me. I see the priority as physical health, mental health, and frankly, education over BART. That’s my personal view.
Q. If I could follow that up, I’d like to ask a question about VTA’s governance. A recent public records request from former Monte Sereno Council Member Mark Brodsky suggested that the VTA and the Leadership Group work very much hand-in-hand. Carl Guardino asks Mike Burns to lobby people. Burns provides help for their lawsuit. They exchange information on speeches. This is quite extensive. Should a public agency and a private lobby be that close?
A. No, they should not. We’ve all in this valley looked at that relationship. I’ve seen the VTA board make decisions on private polling that’s been done by the Leadership Group. We have tried over the years to see the polling. The leadership group is very selective. They will show you some questions, some information. Because they paid for it and it’s a private poll, you don’t see it. But there’s always a sense of uneasiness. Is the VTA board making decisions in public based on what is on the public record? That’s what’s troubling. I don’t want to join in any accusation, but I’m troubled by it.
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News articles about secret SVLG polls:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/39055
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/39056
On shady SVLG tactics:
Herhold: Suit raises questions about tactics of BART backers
“we have witnessed irresponsible secrecy, deceptive promises and political threats around a local public policy issue.”—Supervisor Blanca Alvarado, commenting in the Mercury News
Damaging revelations about VTA and Yes on Measure B tax campaign uncovered
